Support



Dec. 5, 19-39.

G. F. HAUF SUPPORT Filed Nov. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet l [nwbeni'o-rQ'Qcw z Z .15 444W, osMA atmxa-wa G. F. HAUF Dec 5, 1939.

SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 12, 1937 Am f "REV WV"!- G. F. HAUFSUPPORT Filed NOV. 12, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 5, 1939UNITED STATES 2,182,474 SUPPORT George F; Hauf, River Forest, 111.,assignor to Chicago Metal Mfg. 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application November 12, 1937, Serial No. 174,146

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a support for detachably holding thereon anobject, such as a portable vending or game machine. It will beillustrated and described as embodied in a cabinet-stand .5 which notonly completely houses the machine when desired, but also prevents itsunauthorized removal. As will be later explained, however, some of thefeatures may be utilized in supports that are stands only, that is,stands which are not adapted also to house the supported machine.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improvedmachine-stand of the weight-holding type; that is, of the type wherein acavity may be filled with weighting material inserted 15 through anopening that is closable by the supported machine when locked in placethereover.

Another object is to provide a stand whereby the supported machine maybe turned to render the back side thereof accessible from the front.

20 Another object is to provide a stand particularly well suited forsituations where the machine supported thereby is to be located tooclose to a wall to afford ready access to the rear and yet the back mustbe accessible for the removal of 25 coins, for charging it withmerchandise, or when a machine is to be replaced.

A further object is to provide a stand that will not only serve as asupport for a machine, but will also serve as a housing that may becomplete- 30 1y closed to prevent access to the machine, or opened toafford access to the supported machine.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings:

35 Fig. 1 is a front perspective of a cabinet-stand with its door closedto prevent access to the machine supported thereby;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the door open to afford access to thesupported machine;

40 Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section substantially On the line 4-4 of Fig, 1, but lookingupwardly instead of downwardly;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 5-4 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a similar section on the line 'l'l of Fig. 3;

. Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line Ill-l0 of Fig. 9, and

55 Fig. 11 is a section on the line lI--H of Fig. 9.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3, the machinestand chosen forillustration is in the form of a cabinet divided by a transversehorizontal partition 6 into a lower weighting-material compartment 1 andan upper machine compartment 8. 5 This cabinet may be constructed in anyappropriate manner of any suitable material, for example, sheets ofsteel welded or otherwise secured together. Partition 6, which likewisemay be made from sheet steel, can be suitably anchored in place byflanging its outer edges and welding or riveting those flanges to theside panels of the body, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The lower sectionof the cabinet below the partition has four sides or panels and abottom, all per- 15 manently fastened together so as to form acompartment, the interior'of which, as will be later explained, isaccessible only through an opening 9 in its top (i. e., in partition 6)and which opening maybe completely closed by the base of the supportedmachine. This lower compartment is to receive and hold weightingmaterial such as sand or bricks, whereby the stand, after it has beenmoved to the desired location empty and relatively light, may beweighted so as to render it hard to move.

The upper section of the cabinet above partition 6 has three of itsvertical walls or panels and the top permanent, but the front side isclosable by a sliding door 10 that may be moved upwardly to close themachine compartment, as shown in Fig. l, or downwardly in front of thefront panel of the lower compartment to open the machine compartment, asshown in Fig. 2. As shown most clearly in Figs. 4,5, 7 and 8, door It]has its lateral edges bent perpendicularly to theplane of the door andthen back toward the center to form long strengthening and guiding beadsl l and I2, respectively. These beads lie in long vertical guidewaysformed by the channels l3 and It, respectively, which extend from top tobottom of the cabinet along the front edges of the two side channels andare secured to the permanent cabinet walls by welding .or otherappropriate means.

Figs. '7 and 8 also show the details of the construction of the lockingmechanism whereby the door is retained in its upper or closed position.The lock includes a pair of sliding latch bolts 20 and 2| which havetheir inner ends pivotally connected by pins 22 and 23, respectively, toa rotatable latch disc 24. Disc 24 is rotatably retained in place uponthe back of door H] by a substantially U-shaped stirrup or bracket 25which has a circular hole in its central yoke 26 to form a supportingbearing for a somewhat spherically shaped crown or cup 2'! formed at thecenter of disc 2:2. The two feet 28 of bracket 25 may be attached to theback of the door panel by rivets or welding and when so attached thelatch disc and the inner ends of latch bolts 20 and 21 are securelyretained in place, but are freely rotatable about the axis of the discby means of an actuating tool or key shaped to fit a socket 29 in thecenter of the disc.

The outer ends of latch bolts 29 and 2| are retained in place byslidably passing through holes in L-shaped guide brackets 35 and 36,respectively, that are welded to the rear of the door panel. These ends,when the door is fully raised, register with and enter holes or sockets3i and 38, respectively, provided in the guideways l3 and I4; and aslong as so positioned hold the door in its upper or closed position. Bymeans of a suitable tool or key inserted in the socket 29 of latch disc2 the latch disc may be turned about its axis to withdraw bolts 25 and2i from sockets 31 and 38 and thereby to unlatch the door so that it maybe slid downwardly in its guideways to open position. Rotation of thelatch disc in the opposite direction by means of the tool will serve toextend the bolts and cause them to enter sockets 3? and 38 when broughtin register therewith, to latch the door in its upper or closedposition, although I prefer to make this operation automatic. Thisautomatic operation is accomplished by providing a biasing spring 39which surrounds one of the boltssay bolt 2l-and bears at one end againsta pin 40 that is tightly fitted into a hole through bolt 2 I, and at theother end against a fixed stop M. This spring 39 urges bolt iii and alsobolt 25 outwardly so that when, in raising the door to closed position,the ends thereof come in register with the cabinet sockets ail and 3%they automatically move outwardly into latching position. These latchbolts may be withdrawn to release the door by inserting the tool inlatch disc socket 253 and rotating it in the proper direction againstthe tension of spring 39. In order to prevent the latch disc fromrotating too far, limit stops 322 and 43 may be provided thereonforexample, by bending out small portions thereof in the form of tongues-tostrike stirrup 25 and thereby prevent further rotation.

The socket 29 may be reached by the operating tool or key insertedthrough-an aligned opening it; in the front panel of door It. Normallythis opening is closed by a removable closure that may be removed so asto permit the insertion of the tool by an authorized person. A tubularlocking bushing 45, having an enlarged head 4'1 and an externallythreaded shank 48, fits through hole and is anchored in place to thedoor panel by suitable means, such as a lock nut 49, which may be turnedupon the threaded shank 48 tightly to clamp the rim of opening 55between the nut and bushing head 47. The bore of bushing 46, whichserves as the opening through which the latch socket is made accessibleto the operating tool,

accommodates the removable barrel 50 of a suitable lockwhich is shown asof the keyactuated type although, of course, other appropriate types oflock may be used. The barrel bushing and usual latch mechanism of thelock are arranged in the customary manner so that the barrel may beremoved only when the appropriate key is fitted thereto. When soremoved, the socket 229 of the door latch is accessible and a suitabletool may be inserted to rotate the latch disc and withdraw the bolts 28and 2| to unlock the cabinet door as hereinbefore described. Otherwisethe hole through which the tool may be applied to effect withdrawal ofthe latch bolts is closed by the lock barrel.

Although the front of the game or vending machine is visible and itsoperation-initiating devices are accessible to customers when cabinetdoor I is open, it is customary to arrange the coin compartment andsometimes also the charging or loading mechanism so that they areaccessible only from the back of the machine.

L When, however, the machine is located in a cabitable mounting for themachine, as will now be described.

As previously explained, the partition 6 has a circular opening 9therethrough whereby, when the game or vending machine is removed, thelower compartment may be loaded with suitable weighting material torender the support heavy and difficult to move. The circular rim ofpartition 5 about opening 9 forms the stationary sup port for arevoluble machine-carrying mounting, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4, 5and 6. This mounting includes an annular bottom plate 55 below partition5, an annular spacing and centering plate 55 in the plane of partition6, and a rectangular top plate 5? above partition 6. The top plate hasan aperture 58 therethrough which registers with the hole 9 in thepartition so that the weighting material may be applied to the lowercompartment when the machine is not in position. These three plates aresecured rigidly together by suitable means, such as a series of screws59, which pass through and have their heads countersunk in the top plate57!, pass through intermediate plate 55, and thread into tapped holes inbottom plate 55. Thus, the top plate, which serves to carry the machineas will be presently described, is revolubly anchored to the centerpartition of the cabinet. If desired, the turntable top plate 51 may beprovided with a series of concentrically arranged embossments 57 tocontact the top surface of partition 6 and thereby render the partssufficiently tight to prevent rattling and yet to permit ready rotationof the top plate.

Along its two sides and normally front end, top plate 51 is providedwith upstanding flanges 85,

,6 I and 62, respectively, that have their upper edges first bentinwardly to form the inturned horizontal flanges 63, 54", 65,respectively, and then slightly downwardly and outwardly to form thelips 66, 5?, 68, respectively, that lie slightly spaced from andsubstantially parallel to'the'horizontal flanges 63", 64, 65. the topplate and the sets of permanent flanges flank its two sides and normallyfront end and form a bottom or floor and three sides of a channel-shapedframe section for accommodating and embracing three edges of asubstantially rectangular base 15 of a game or vending machine I l. Thefourth or normally rear side of the machine base embracing frame isformed by a detachable substan tially til-shaped holding plate orsection 72 of channel cross-section. The ends or legs 73 and 14 of thisremovable section and its base are so able actuating tool or key.

dimensioned relative to the open side of the permanent frame section,that the movable section may be rather tightly but slidably telescopedwithin the open side of the fixed section, completely to close achannel-shaped frame upon all four sides of the machine base. Byremoving the frame section '12, the frame may be opened so that the baseof a machine may be positioned upon the turntable or a machine alreadyupon the support may be slid therefrom for removal. A machine may beapplied to the support by simply sliding the base thereof into thepocket formed by the three permanent sides of the frame and then theframe closed by placing the removable section in place and moving ittelescopically with respect to the fixed section until the base of themachine is sufiiciently embraced within the frame channel on all foursides.

The turntable is provided with a locking mechanism so that it can berotated to expose the back of the machine only by an authorized person.Likewise the movable section of the machineholding frame of theturntable is equipped with a locking mechanism so that it can, only byan authorized person, be loosened and removed to release a supportedmachine.

The turntable locking mechanism is shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6.For convenience it is assembled upon and carried by a lock base plate l!which may be made of sheet metal and welded or otherwise fastened to theunderside of partition 6 at one side of the turntable. Weld-ed to theunderside of this base plate is a substantially U-shaped stirrup '58which, in the center of its yoke, has a circular bearing hole '59therethrough. At opposite corners of the yoke, tongues and 8! projectinwardly from the legs of the stirrup to provide, between their upperedges and the underside of the yoke, a pair of slots for accommodatingthe edge of a circular latch disc 82. Latch disc 82 has a centraldomeshaped or somewhat spherical projection 33 that has a bearing fit inthe hole 19 of yoke 18 and is provided with a socket 84 for receiving asuit- When mounted upon the underside of partition 6, the socket B laligns with a hole in the partition so that the actuating tool or keymay be inserted through the partition hole to reach the turntable latchdisc socket. If desired, this hole in partition 5 through which theturntable latch may be operated, can be closed by a removable lockbarrel in the same manner as hereinbefore described in connection withthe cabinet door latch. Latch disc 82 may, as previously described inconnection with the latch disc of the door lock, be provided withtongues 86 struck therefrom and adapted to engage the yoke of stirrup 13to limit the amount the latch 'disc may be rotated by its actuatingtool.

Latch disc 82 has a radially projecting arm 9!] rigidly secured theretoand this arm is in a position to engage a lug 9! that extends downwardlyfrom a latch bolt 92. Latch bolt 92 is guided and held in place by apair of parallel guide bars 93 and 94, which are welded or riveted tobase plate 11, and a cover plate 95 that may be riveted or welded to theguide bars. The forward end of latch bolt 92 may be projected into aslot or latch bolt socket 96 provided in the'periphery of the bottomturntable plate 55 when the turntable has been rotated so as to bringthis notch in proper register therewith. When so projected into itssocket, the latch bolt 92 prevents rotation of the turntable; when thelatch bolt has been withdrawn the turntable may be rotated in orderthat, for example, the rear side of a game or vending machine mountedthereon may be ex-, posed to and made accessible from the front of thecabinet. The latch bolt 92 may be biased to locking position by a spring91 which is anchored at one end to the stationary stirrup l8 and atv theother end to the projection 9| on the latch bolt. In this manner theprojection of the latch bolt into its socket in the turntable may bemade automatic to lock the turntable against further rotation when ithas reached the position in which the front of the supported machine isin the correct relation to the front of the cabinet.

The locking of the turntable against rotation adds an element ofprotection to the mounted machine and its contents because the means ofaccess to the cash box, to the merchandise compartments, if the machineis of the merchandise vending variety, and to the lock for the mechanismwhereby the machine is anchored to its support and the opening to theweightingmaterial compartment is kept closed may, as herein described,be located at the rear of the machine. Consequently, if these means .ofaccess can not be moved to the front, because the turntable is lockedagainst rotation except by an authorized person, it will be, of course,harder to tamper with them.

The locking mechanism, whereby the machine may be securely anchored tothe turntable, will now be described. As previously explained, the baseof the machine may be enclosed on all four sides by a channel-shapedframe having a threesided fixed section 63, 64, 65 and a removablesection '12 that may be telescoped into the open side of the fixedsection. The top plate 5'! of the turntable is provided with a pair ofparallel ratchet bars I00 and Ill! rigidly attached thereto. The backsor smooth edges of these ratchet bars are adapted to engagecorresponding guide bars I82 and IE3 carried by the removable framesection 72, and thereby facilitate the proper positioning of theremovable section. The teeth on the front edges of the stationaryratchet bars are adapted to be engaged by complementary teeth on theouter ends of two movable locking bars lu l and H35 that are carried bythe movable section, that are adapted to slide in and out between guidesH36, i9! and I 68 and are retained in place on the movable section by acover plate ms.

Latch bars H34 and 105 are urged outwardly to locking position by aspring H5 that, at its center, is held by a pin 8 l5 and has its twospring legs bearing against the rear edges of the latch bars. The latchbars maybe retracted out of engagement with ratchet bars 100 and NH by apair of levers Ill and H8. The forward ends of levers l H and H8 movablyfit into notches H9, I 29 near the rear ends of the latch bars lildandI85, respectively. The rear ends of levers H1 and H8 are provided withupstanding wings HI and I22 that are engageable and operable bycam-shaped lugs I23 and I24, respectively, of a lock H25. A pin I26 maybe secured through the Walls of the bars of section 12 in the path ofthe ends of spring M5 to serve as a stop therefor and to assist inkeeping the spring in proper place.

Normally spring H5 extends latch bars W4 and W5 so that the teeththereof engage but ride idly over the teeth of ratchet bars Hill andHill, respectively, when the removable frame section is applied to andpushed inwardly relative to the fixed frame section. On the other hand,movement of the detachable frame section inthe cpposite direction isprevented by the interlocking of the teeth of the latch and ratchetbars. Thus, the movable frame section may be moved inwardly until itschannel fits tightly against one edge of the base of the machine theotherthree edges being embraced by the three sides of the fixedsection-and the machine is anchored to the turntable. An authorizedperson, however, may, by the insertion of a proper key, rotate lock soas to rock levers i Ill and M8 to retract latch bars I04 and H andthereby free the section I2 so that it may be drawn out to any desiredextent or even removed entirely.

Inasmuch as the bases of game and vending machines are not always of auniform thickness, I make provision to insure a tight fit between theturntable frame and the machine base regardless of such variations. Thisadjustable feature is shown most clearly in Fig. 6. Below the horizontalflanges 63 and 54 of the turntable frame are a pair of elongatedvertically movable baseengaging brackets I3I) and I3I. These brackets,which may be formed from sheet metal, have horizontal shelf sections I32and I33, respectively, for engaging under and supporting the oppositeedges of the machine base I3, and channel-shaped portions l3l and I35that lie between the edges of the machine base and flanges 69 and 6!,respectively, of the fixed section of the turntable frame. A series ofscrews I35 and I3? that project through the horizontal flanges 63 and64, respectively, and thread into nuts below the parts I34 and I35 or.if the bracket material is sufiiciently heavy, into tapped holes throughchannel-shaped portions I34 and I35, respectively, of the brackets,serve to raise the brackets against the under surface of a machine baseand then to raise the machine untilits base is tightly clamped againstthe lips 56,61 and 63 of the inturned upper flanges 63, G4 and B5 of themachine-holding frame. When the screws are turned in one direction,brackets Q36 and I3I are pulled towards flanges 53 and M to clamp themachine base tightly therebetween. Turning the screws in the reversedirection unclamps the machine base. The adjustable brackets, althoughthey do insure that machine bases of different thicknesses may betightly clamped in the turntable frame, do not have anything to do withthe anchoring of the machine base to the turntable frame and,consequently, the adjusting screws thereof need not be concealed orotherwise guarded againstunauthorized operation. The brackets, bybringing the base of the machine tightly up against the inturned upperflanges of the holding frame, effectively close any gap between theframe and the machine base into which coins might fall and be lost tothe person operating the machine.

Briefly reviewed, the operation of the various features of my support isas follows: When the cabinet door Iii is down and, consequently, themachine compartment is open, the turntable may be unlocked for rotationso as to render the rear or removable side of its frame accessible. Thisis accomplished by the insertion of a proper key in look 85, the removalof the lock barrel from the opening in partitionfi, and the insertionand operation of a proper tool to withdraw latch bolt 92 from socket955. Now the turntable can be turned so that the back of any machineattached thereto maybe accessible from the front for the removal ofcoins or for the reloading of the. machine. When the turntable isrevolved a complete revolution-or turned back ahalf revolution latchbolt 92 automatically snaps back into its socket 96 and the turntable islatched in proper position. Upon removal of the actuating tool and thereplacement of the lock barrel, the turntable is locked againstunauthorized rotation.

During the time-the turntable has been moved so as to bring itsremovable frame section 12 to the front of the cabinet, that frontsection may be unlocked by the insertion of a proper key into lock I25and the turning of the key to cause the retraction of the toothed latchbars I M and H35.

With the removable frame section 12 pulled partly or all of the way out,depending of course upon the size of the machine base, a machinesupported on the turntable may be removed for repairs or replacement.While the machine is removed, the filling opening through partition 6into the lower weight-holding compartment is open for the application orremoval of weighting material. After a machine has been slid into thefixed frame section, the removable section I2 may be applied and pushedinto place so as properly to engage the machine base and anchor it tothe turntable. The teeth of latch bars I04 and I05 will ride over theteeth of ratchet bars I00 and IBI as the movable section I2 is pushedinto place, but will prevent movement in the reverse direction. Afterthe machine base is properly anchored and the key removed, the machinecannot be taken from the support and, since its base closes the fillingopening for the weighting material compartment, the weighting materialcannot be removed or tampered with.

Either before or after the movable frame section '52 has been appliedand moved into baseretaining position, the base of the machine may bevery tightly clamped to the turntable by turning the adjusting screwsI36 and I31 to raise the clamping brackets I30 and I3I tightly againstthe underside of its base.

When it is desired to close the cabinet it is only necessary to raisethe door I0 until latch bolts 2k) and 2| register with their sockets 31and 38. Thereupon the latch bolts automatically snap into their socketsand the door is held up in closed position. It can be opened only when akey is inserted into the lock, the lock barrel 5!] removed, and asuitable actuating tool is inserted through the hole uncovered therebyand turned to withdraw the bolts 20 and 2|.

Of course, it will be readily understood that y the upper or machinecompartment part of the cabinet may be omitted and only the lower orstand compartment utilized if it is not deemed necessary or advisable toprovide a housing for the machine. Likewise the support, either of thecabinet or simple stand variety, may be provided with severalturntables, all controlled by a single locking mechanism, so that onestand will serve to support several machines.

Having thus illustrated and described the nature and preferredembodiment of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by UnitedStates Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an openingin its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, amulti-slded frame having an opening registrable with the opening in thetop of the cabinet and having at least one of its sides movable towardand away from another side so that the object to be supported can beclamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to close theregistering openings in the cabinet and frame, and a hollow bearing forsecuring the frame to the top of the cabinet with the frame rotatableabout a vertical axis, the opening through the hollow bearingregistering with the 5 registered openings through the cabinet and frameso that access to the cabinet interior is possible or impossibledepending upon the absence or presence of a supportable object in theframe.

2. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an openingin its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, amulti-sided frame having an opening registrable with the opening in thetop of the cabi- 15 net and having at least one of its sides movabletoward and away from another side so that the object to be supported canbe clamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to closethe registering openings in the cabinet and 20 frame, a hollow bearingfor securing the frame to the top of the cabinet with the framerotatable about a vertical axis, the opening through the hollow bearingregistering with the registered openings through the cabinet and frame25 so that access to the cabinet interior is possible or impossibledepending upon the absence or presence of a supportable object in theframe, and a lock for preventing unauthorized relative rotation betweenthe cabinet and the object clamping frame.

3. A support for an object comprising a hollow cabinet having an openingin its top through which access may be had to the hollow interior, amulti-sided frame having an opening registrable with the opening in thetop of the cabinet and having at least one of its sides movable towardand away from another side so that the object to be supported can beclamped by the relatively movable frame sides in a position to close theregistering openings in the cabinet and frame and removal of the objectfrom clamped position will uncover the openings, means for securing theframe to the top of the cabinet so that the frame is rotatable about avertical axis and registrability is maintained between the opening inthe frame and the opening in the cabinet top, and a lock for preventingunauthorized rotation of the frame.

GEORGE F. HAUF.

